Category: Film Festivals

2016 New African Film Festival (March 11-18)

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AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center  (8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910) will be hosting the 12th annual New African Film Festival, showcasing African films from ALL corners of the continent. Below is info re: the 2 films that I’m MOST interested in seeing.  (FYI: Opening Night films usually sell out quickly, so try to get tickets early!)  I may have to go see it SUN.

You can read my review of one of the films from last year’s festival here: https://knightleyemma.com/2015/03/22/2015-new-african-film-fest-triangle/

Lamb

Friday, March 11 – Opening Night/Reception (7:15 PM) & Sunday, March 13 (4:45 PM)

Yared Zeleke’s remarkable feature debut tells the story of young Ephraim, a half-Jewish Ethiopian boy who is sent by his father to live among distant relatives after his mother’s death. Ephraim uses his cooking skills to carve out a place among his cousins, but when his uncle decides that his beloved sheep must be sacrificed for the next religious feast, he will do anything to save the animal and return home.

The Price of Love

Saturday, March 12 (7:15 PM) & Wednesday, March 16 (7:15 PM)

A recovering addict, Teddy drives his cab across the sprawling Addis Ababa, in the hopes of making an honest living. But when Teddy picks up the beautiful prostitute Fere, just as she’s escaping an abusive john, he’s thrust back into the world of trouble he tried to escape. After an act of retribution, which leaves Teddy’s cab stolen, he joins forces with Fere in the hopes of saving both their lives. As romance blossoms between the two outsiders, they learn the hard way that love comes with a price.

http://silver.afi.com/Browsing/Movies/Details/m-0100000548

Two Films from The Washington Jewish Film Festival

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WJFF_2015

Apples from The Desert

This is a coming-of-age story (one in a shory story collection- Apples from the Desert by Sayvon Leibrecht) about Rachel, a 19 y.o. ultra-Orthodox Jewish girl, who lives in Jerusalem w/ her parents.  Unlike most families in their community, she’s the only child of her parents.  Rachel yearns for a different life than the one of her housewife mother.  Rachel’s unmarried aunt lives down the street, w/ her cat, and seems content to be single/celibate.  We learn from her father that people in the community still whisper about the time Rachel drank bleach (in an attempt to kill herself). 

Still_ApplesDesert_02

At a community center, Rachel watches young secular men and women doing folk dances.  This is forbidden in her sect, of course.  She eventually gets the courage to joins the class, taking some time off from her job.  A red-headed college boy in this class tells her about his life on a kibbutz, and they develop a friendship.  Her father, worried about Rachel’s changing attitude and future, plans a different future.  Her mother sees that she’s unhappy, but fears losing her only child to the world.

The Dove Flyer (AKA Farewell to Baghdad)

The Dove Flyer

This film (based on the novel by Eli Amir) tells the story of the last years of the Jewish community in Baghdad, Iraq, before their expulsion in 1950 and settlement in Israel. The teen narrator, Kabi, watches as the members of his extended family each develop different dreams/fears: his father wants to emigrate to the promised land, his uncle Hizkel (a Zionist) is suddenly arrested; his Muslim teacher, Salim, believes in the equality of Arabs and Jews; and his other uncle just wants to raise his doves.  World War II draws closer, houses are ceased, Jews are beaten in the streets and hung in public.  Kabi is watchful of Hizkel’s spirited young wife, who turns heads w/ her blonde hair, blue eyes, and revealing dresses. 

Trailer: